USA > Pennsylvania > Encyclopedia of genealogy and biography of the state of Pennsylvania with a compendium of history. A record of the achievements of her people in the making of a commonwealth and the founding of a nation, Volume II > Part 3
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From September 1, 1881, to May 1, 1882, he was assistant general manager to the Pennsylvania Company and the Pittsburg, Cincinnati and St. Louis Railway lines, with his residence at Pittsburg. Pennsyl- vania. From May 1. 1883. to March 31. 1888, he devoted himself ex- clusively to the interests of the Pennsylvania Company lines as man-
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OF THE ST.ITE OF PENNSYLVANIA.
ager, filling the office satisfactorily to its officials, he ever demanding more of himself than others required.
From April 1. 1888, to April. 1892, he was vice president and general manager of the Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburg Railway, and lived in Rochester, New York. In 1893 he was appointed president and general manager of the Cleveland and Marietta Railway. having his home in Zanesville. Ohio. From January 1. 1900, to the present he has been president of the Cleveland and Marietta Railway, with his residence at Pittsburg. Pennsylvania.
This list of offices, worthily filled. represents an active and indus- trious life. With some modest self-distrust. there has always been an honorable ambition to perform faithfully the duties of the hour, and to meet all . claims upon the powers which were constantly being trained for better service. Distinguished by an incorruptible integrity. William Ashbridge Ballwin is esteemed by all who knew him well. With a brusque manner, which might mislead a stranger. he has as warm a heart as ever beat, and a generous hand. Some words used by Elbert Hubbard in characterizing the late Mr. Thomas Reed. seems applicable in this case:
"He was an absolutely honest man. My belief is that much of his brusqueness and sweeping sword play was merely nature's plan for protecting the inmost recesses of a great and tender soul."
William Ashbridge Baldwin married, November 22. 1864. Emily. eldest daughter of Mr. W. Hasell Wilson, chief engineer of the Penn- sylvania Railroad. Five children have been born to them. as follows: Louisa Linn, who died in infancy: Jane Wilson, who married John E. Porter of Sewickley, Pennsylvania: Joseph Trimble. deceased : lasell Wilson, now connected with the American Car and Foundry Company, Milton. Pennsylvania : and Isabella Douglass.
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CAPTAIN WILLIAM H. LANTUS.
The above named, who is a Union veteran with a highly creditable and even brilliant military record. comes of a family which has been well known for many generations both in New York and in Pennsyl- vania. The paternal ancestors were of German origin, long residing in York and vicinity, where they were prominent and influential in the Moravian church and in the affairs of city and county. Henry Lanius. father of the Captain, married Miss Angeline Miller, whose ancestry. of English and French Huguenot mixture, settled on Long Island at an carly period in the history of that section. He was a successful lum- ber merchant, and during the first years of the Civil war was elected to the office of chief burgess of York by the Republican party, of which he was an influential member.
Ilis son, William H. Lanius, was born at Flushing. Long Island, November 26, 1843, and was educated in private schools, supplemented by a course in the York County Academy, where he excelled as a stu- dent. After leaving school he clerked in his father's office, until his peaceful pursuit was rudely interrupted by the "shoutings of the cap- tains" and all the pride, pomp and circumstance of war. Young Lanius was among the innumerable host who sprang promptly to arms in re- sponse to his country's call, and on August 25. 1861. enlisted as a private in Company A. Eighty-seventh Regiment Pennsylvania Vohm- teer Infantry. Two weeks later he was promoted to the rank of orderly sergeant of Company 1, and served in that capacity during the regi- ment's subsequent campaign in the mountains of West Virginia. March 2. 1863, when less than twenty years old. he was promoted to a second lieutenancy, and was the youngest commissioned officer in the regiment. Ile participated with his command in the affair at Newtown, June 12,
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1863, the engagements around Winchester during the two succeeding days and in the battle of Carter's Woods on June 15, where he led his part of the line up to the enemy's works. When the Union troops, overpowered by numbers, began the sudden retreat, Lieutenant Lanius escaped to Harper's Ferry with that part of the regiment under Colonel Schall, and for several weeks thereafter was acting adjutant. He was with his regiment in the Third Brigade. Third Division of the Third Army Corps, in the engagement at Manassas Gap. July 23: Bealton Station, October 26; Kelly's Ford. November 7; and Brandy Station, November 8. During the absence of Captain Pfeiffer on brigade staff Lieutenant Lanius commanded Company 1 in the engagement at Locust Grove on November 27. He was also in command of his company when the Third Division was to lead the assault on the Confederate works at Mine Run, November 30. which attack was finally abandoned on account of the impregnable position of the enemy. December 7. while in winter quarters at Brandy Station, he was commissioned as first lieutenant to succeed Anthony M. Martin, who had been made adjutant. When General Morris was wounded at Spottsylvania, May 9. 1864, and Colonel Schall succeeded to the command of the First Brigade, Third Division of the Sixth Corps, in which the Eighty- seventh Regiment was then serving, Lieutenant Lanius was appointed aide on the brigade staff. When Colonel Trues, the senior officer. assumed command of the First Brigade. he was continued on the lat- ter's staff and served as such in the engagements of, Grant's campaign in 1864, including the movement of the army from the Rapidan to Petersburg, the battle of the Wilderness. Spottsylvania, Laurel Ilill, Po River, North Anna. Tolopotomy, Cold Harbor and the Weldon Railroad. After Captain Pfeiffer was killed at Cold Harbor. Lieu- tenant Lanius was commissioned captain of Company I on June 25.
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but still retained his position as aide on the staff of the brigade com- mander.
When the scene shifted from the soil of old Virginia to the smiling fields of Maryland, as a result of Early's famous raid during the sum- mer of 1864. Captain Lanius gained additional laurels by his services in assisting to repel the invader. Early's army, numbering. all told. about twenty-five thousand men, had crossed the Potomac at Shep- herdstown and other tords and advanced rapidly on Frederick. Near that city and near the railroad bridge which crosses the Monocacy river at that point was fought. on July 9. 1864, one of the sharpest engage- ments of the war, when time and number of troops engaged are taken into consideration. It was opened by MeCausland's brigade, consisting of four regiments of mounted infantry, who on that day constituted the vanguard of Early's army. General Wallace's forces, numbering about forty-five hundred men, repelled MeCausland's attack with some loss and forced that commander to fall back and wait for reinforcements. These were speedily sent forward under Gordon, who advanced with a large body of veteran infantry against the left flank of General Wal- lace's position, which was carried after a very brief but very bloody assault. The part taken in this engagement by Captain Lanius is thus spiritedly described by Colonel Stahle in his description of the affair : "In the battle of Monocacy, July 9. 1864." he writes, "Captain Lanius displayed both courage and daring. In the afternoon of that day, when the Confederates were re-forming their line in a woods in our front with the intention of turning our left. he came riding gallantly along our lines, bringing an order from General Wallace for the Eighty-seventh Pennsylvania and the Fourteenth New Jersey to charge across a field and take position by the Thomas House." This charge was success-
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OF THE ST.ITE OF PENNSYLVANIA.
fully executed, but soon afterward Captain Lanius, while passing through a shower of balls, received a wound in the arm which disabled him for about two months, when he returned to the regiment. then under Sheridan in the Shenandoah valley, and took command of Com- pany I, with which he participated in the battles of the Opequan and Fisher's Hill.
In September, 1864. at the expiration of the three years' term of service, he returned with the regiment to York and engaged in the lum- ber business, which he conducted with energy and success for a number of years. In 1884 he organized the West End Improvement Company. which opened up and developed the western part of York, and two years later he was the moving spirit in organizing the York Street Railway Company, of which he has been president since 1886. In 1890. chiefly through his efforts, the York Trust Company was organized, and of this also he has been president since its inception. This institution has done a large and prosperous business, and has been a source of benefit both to the managers and the general public. He is also president of the Eastern Extension of the Baltimore and Harrisburg Railroad, was the first president of the board of trade of York in 1886, and is a trustee of the York County Academy and the York Historical Society. In 1867 he was one of the charter members and became the first com- mander of Sedgwick Grand Army Post No. 37. at York, and was its representative several times at state and national encampments. He is a member of the Loyal Legion and the Masonic fraternity, and served eight years in the borough and city councils of York. He has been equally prominent in politics, and in 1884 was a delegate to the Repub- lican national convention which nominated James G. Blaine for the presidency of the United States. Captain Lanius has displayed good
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judgment, fertility of resource and rare executive ability in all his busi- ness enterprises, and for twenty-five years has been one of the energetic and public-spirited citizens of York.
BENJAMIN C. BOWMAN.
Williamsport has been the home and scene of labor of many men who have not only led lives that should serve as an example to those who come after them. but have also been of important service to their city and state through various avenues of usefulness. Among them must be named Benjamin C. Bowman, who passed away in June. 1893. after a life of industry and a career rich in those rare possessions which only a high character can give.
A native of New York. he was born in Chenango township, Broome county, April 7, 1818, and was a son of Ebenezer and Sylvania 1. (Barneby ) Bowman. He was left motherless when only thirteen years old, and after her death his father, who was a native of Vermont, returned to that state. Benjamin spent his boyhood near Binghamton, New York, and was educated in the public schools of that city. On the death of his mother he went to Great Bend, Susquehanna county, Penn- sylvania, where he was employed on a farm until he attained his ma- jority. On the 8th of January, 1840, Mr. Bowman was united in mar- riage to Miss Eliza Ann Buck, of Susquehanna county, and for over fifty-two years they traveled life's journey together, sharing its joys and sorrows, its adversity and prosperity. Two sons survive their par- ents, these being Francis C., who is engaged in mercantile and lumber business in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and is interested in various other business enterprises, and James Walton, now manager of the business in one of the offices.
OF THE ST.ITE OF PENNSYLVANIA. 579
For two years after his marriage Mr. Bowman was engaged in farming upon rented land in Susquehanna county, and then removed to Center county, where he embarked in the lumber business by purchas- ing an old sawmill and a tract of timber land, which he cleared. He engaged in the manufacture of lumber and rafted the product of his mills down the Moshannon. Later he built a steam sawmill near Phil- ipsburg. Center county, and hauled his lumber on wag ns to Clearfield creek. whence he rafted it down the river and thence to market. being one of the first men to float logs down the Susquehanna to Williams- port. From a humble beginning Mr. Bowman worked his way upward until he became one of the most extensive lumber operators in Center and Clearfield counties.
In January. 1864. he located in Williamsport. and as a member of the firm of Borrows. Bowman & Company purchased the Starr Mills. which they operated for many years, though in the meantime the firm name was changed to Bowman. Foresman & Company. Mr. Bowman was also a member of the firm of B. C. Bowman & Company and B. Foresman & Company, and was president of the Bowman Lumber Com- pany of West Virginia. For many years he was connected with the Susquehanna Boom Company and served as its president. Hle was also president of the Lycoming Rubber Company from its organization, was vice president of the Lumberman's National Bank, vice president of the Susquehanna Trust & Safe Deposit Company and a director of the Williamsport Gas Company. I will thus be seen that he was promi- nently identified with many of the leading business enterprises of this portion of the state, and as a promoter of such he did much to advance the general welfare. His career seems almost phenomenal, yet his success was by no means the result of fortunate circumstances. It came to him through energy, labor and perseverance, directed by an evenly
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COMPENDIUM OF HISTORY .IND GENE. ILOGY
balanced mind and by honorable business principles. He always made the most of his opportunities and was uniformly successful in his un- dertakings.
Politically Mr. Bowman was a Democrat, and he ever manifested an active interest in public affairs. In religious faith he was a Meth- odist and served as president of the board of trustees in Grace Meth- odist Episcopal church of Williamsport and as steward of that organ- ization. He was also a trustee of Dickinson Seminary and the Young Men's Christian Association, and gave liberally of his means to the support of religious, charitable and educational institutions. He was truly benevolent, and the poor and needy counted him among their friends, no worthy one ever seeking his aid in vain. It is but just and merited praise to say of Mr. Bowman that as a business man he ranked among the ablest as a citizen he was honorable, prompt and true to every engagement ; as a man he held the honor and esteem of all classes of people, of all creeds and political proclivities : as a husband and father he was a model worthy of all imitation : unassuming in manner, sincere in his friendships, steadfast and unswerving in his loyalty to the right.
THOMAS HAYS.
Prominent in political circles and in the business development and substantial upbuilding of his section of the state. Thomas Hays is well entitled to distinction as a representative citizen. Honored and respected by all, there is no man who occupies a more enviable position in industrial or financial circles, not only because of the success which he has achieved but also by reason of the honorable, straightforward business policy he has ever followed. Although he started out in business life in a humble capacity, which brought him but twenty-five dollars per month, he is
Thomas Hay
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OF THE STATE OF PENNSYLU.INI .. I.
now a leading factor and heavy stockholler in a number of important enterprises, and. moreover, his fellow citizens, recognizing his loyalty and his devotion to the best interests of the state. have selected him as their representative in the general assembly of Pennsylvania.
Mr. Hays was born in Sugar Creek township. Armstrong county. Pennsylvania, January 19, 1840. a son of Robert and Deborah ( McKee) Flays. Robert Hays, a native of county Donegal. Ireland. emigrated to America in 1821. locating in AArmstrong county, where he resided con- tinuously until 1874. when he removed to Fairview township. Butler county. Pennsylvania, which was his place of residence until his death. which occurred in 1877. He was much respected and beloved throughout the community in which he lived. and in his home he was a devoted hus- band and father. He was also known as a successful farmer, and was an active Republican, and served as township trustee for many years and was also a school director, taking an active and helpful interest in edu- cational matters. He married Deborah Mckee. a daughter of Thomas and Margaret ( Blaine ) McKee, and a granddaughter of Andrew Mc- Kee, who was a soldier of the continental army in the Revolutionary war and at his death was laid to rest in the cemetery of Union church. in Middlesex. Armstrong county. Pennsylvania. Thomas Mckee was a native of Cumberland valley. eastern Pennsylvania, and died in Sugar Creek township. Armstrong county. His wife was a relative of James Gillespie Blaine, the noted Maine statesman.
Thomas Hays was one of a family of nine children born to Robert and Deborah Hays, all of whom are still living. He attended the com- mon schools of his native state until his twentieth year. and. ambitious to become a teacher, he made some preparation for that profession, but after spending one term as a student in the high school at Adams, Arm- strong county, he put aside his text books and yielded to his patriotism
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COMPENDIUM OF HISTORY .IND GENE.ILOGY
ard lecame a defender of his country, enlisting in September, 1861, in Company B. One Hundred and Third Pennsylvania Regiment of Vol- unteers, which was assigned to service in Casey's division, Fourth Corps. Army of the Potomac, and participated in the Peninsular cam- paign and the battles of Williamsburg. Seven Pines, Fair Oaks, Malvern Hill and other engagements. Later the regiment was transferred to the Eighteenth Corps and stationed at Suffolk. Virginia. In November. 1862. under general orders from the war department, Mr. Hays re-en- listed in Battery L. Fourth United States Artillery, and subsequently served in the siege of Suffolk, at Yorktown, the siege of Petersburg, Cold Harbor and the engagement before Richmond, and was honorably discharged. November 13, 1864. It was his lot to experience many of the hardships of war and know much of the real rigor and carnage of battle. During the heat of the second battle of Cold Harbor, seventeen horses and eighteen men near him were shot down within half an hour. An event of interest concerning the company in which he first enlisted bears not only on his record but also upon the history of his wife, who at that time was Miss Kizzie Foster. When the war broke out most of the young men of the neighborhood enlisted, and Miss Foster and her sch olmates made with their own hands and presented to Company B the first flag the company ever had, and with it the girls gave orders that if any man attempted to pull down the starry banner he was to be shot down on the spot. The "boys" promised to obey orders, and they carried the flag through all the battles up to the siege of Plymouth, North Carolina, when the regiment, being surrounded and outnumbered, was captured after several days of hard fighting. One of the boys, how- ever, wrapped the flag around his body and concealed it while they were in AAndersonville. Some of the time it was buried for safe-keeping and if the boy who had it in charge died, as a number of them did, another
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would take charge of the flag. At length the war endedl and the pris- oners were exchanged and the flag was then returned in triumph to the county from which it came, after almost four years of absence. It is still to be seen near Freeport. Armstrong county, tattered, torn and worn. a mute reminder of the suffering and hardships borne by the brave boys in blue more than forty years ago, but a token that the Union was saved and stands to-day the strongest republic on the face of the globe.
On the 21st of December. 1865. Thomas Hays and Kizzie Foster were united in marriage. She was born March 27. 1841. in Sugar Creek township. Armstrong county, on the farm belonging to her father. Chris- topher Foster. Her remote ancestors in both the paternal and maternal lines came from Ireland. On coming out of the army Mr. Hays worked for a year for twenty-five dollars per month, and he refers with pride to the fact, that, after making a wise selection of a helpmate and com- panion for life's journey, in the person of his excellent wife, he was enabled to save from his earning in two years the sum of one thousand dollars, which was the basis of his subsequent successful career. In the early days of the oil excitement in Pennsylvania he began investing in oil lands, and has since been an extensive operator in that line as an individual and as a partner of others. He is also a leading stockholder and the present treasurer of the Evans Manufacturing Company, manu- facturers of gas and gasoline engines and supplies at Butler, Pennsyl- vania. He has a large amount of valuable real estate in this county and elsewhere, and at one time owned considerable stock in the Freeport National Bank. He became one of the original stockholders and direc- tors in the Farmers' National Bank of Butler, and feels a just pride in the fact that it has become one of the solid and prosperous banking houses of the town. He believes this to be one of the best investments that he
COMPENDIUM OF HISTORY AND GENEALOGY
has ever made, which statement is borne out in the showing of the bank report made November 25. 1902, as follows:
Loans and discounts $378.946.15
United States bonds 104,000.00
Banking house furniture, etc. 23.072.71
United States treasury
5,000.00
Cash and due from banks
102.126.32
$613,145.18
Liabilities-
Capital
$100.000.00
Surplus and profits
21.159.01
Circulation
100,000.00
Deposits
391.986.17
$613.145.18
To Mr. and Mrs. Hays six children have been born, of whom four are living : Jennie L., the wife of Dr. V. F. Thomas: Christopher F. : Robert N. : and Mande B. Thomas HI. died August 24, 1901. and Fred- erick W. died November 24. 1902. For fourteen years Mr. Hays has been a member of the Masonic fraternity, and he also belongs to the Ancient Order of United Workmen. while he and his family hold mem- bership in the Presbyterian church, in which he has served for twenty- seven years as an elder. In Fairview. Pennsylvania, twenty-five years ago, he was a member of the building committee at the time of the erection of the Presbyterian house of worship and gave generously to the cause. and he is now a member of the building committee of the Second Presbyterian church of Butler. He has ever been a generous con- tributor to church and charitable enterprises, and has never allowed the accumulation of wealth to affect in the slightest degree his treatment of those less fortunate in financial matters.
Always loyal to the principles of the Republican party, he has never sought office, but at the solicitation of his friends in the summer of
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OF THE ST.ITE OF PENNSYLE.INI I.
1902 he consented to become a candidate for the state legislature and was elected on the 4th of November. He has long been a champion of labor reform and is also in favor of labor unions, and will no doubt advocate such sentiments in the house of representatives. He has ever been fearless in defense of his honest convictions, and nothing can swerve him from a cause which he believes to be right. Throughout his life he has manifested the same loyalty in citizenship which he displayed when he donned the country's blue uniform and went forth in defense of the U'nion, and his labors have been equally effective in church work and in the business world. his record proving the force of industry capable management and keen foresight in the accumulation of a hand- some competence.
ADAM WILSON.
The firm of A. & S. Wilson, contractors and builders of Pittsburg. was organized in 1852, being composed of Alexander, Samuel and Joseph Wilson. In this half-century of existence they have constructed some of the most important buildings in Pittsburg, large and mag- nificent homes and business blocks of the finest character, among them the beautiful residences in the east end of the city, the Guffy, Chikls. Stewart. Lockhart and Peacock homes in the fashionable quarter, and the Vandergift. Ferguson. Mechanics' Bank and Horne retail establish- ment houses and many others that are a pride to the city.
Adam Wilson, one of the present members of the firm, was born two years after the original company was formed. August 28. 1854, in Pittsburg. His father was Samuel Wilson, a native of Ireland, who came to America in 1846 and located in Pittsburg. He had mastered the trade of carpenter in the old country, and was one of the originators
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of the firm of A. & S. Wilson. His hard work and perseverance were the means of gaining a handsome competence, and he had the honor of helping build up the city of Pittsburg. As a citizen he was honorable and upright, but quiet and unostentatious and extremely conservative. devoted only to his trade and family. lle married Eliza Mitchell, and they had eleven children, seven sons and four daughters, all of whom are living. Samuel Wilson died in 1892, having for the past forty-six years been a member of the United Presbyterian church.
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